Tire-saver.



LE ROY WILLOUR.

TIRE SAVER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6, 1913.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

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. TIRE SAVER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. e, 1913.

,()7'1,3' 78, Patented Aug.26, 1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. A

LE ROY WILLOUR, OF ASHLAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ASI-ILANDMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ASHLAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TIRE-SAVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

Application filed January 6, 1913. Serial No. 740,509.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LE ROY WILLOU'R, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ashland, in the county of Ashland and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Savers, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates broadly to lifting jacks and has particularreference to devices of this character which are known in the art astire savers.

An important object of this invention is to provide a tire saver ofsimple construction, which-is strong and is capable of standing roughtreatment, without being broken or otherwise damaged.

A furtherobject of my invention is to provide a device of the abovementioned character, the operating parts of which are permanentlyconnected in their assembled condition and will not come apart when thedevice is thrown around.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means forattaching the support or supporting bracket upon the upright orstandard.

It is well known that a great saving in tires may be had by elevatingthe automobile or vehicle to bring the tires out of engagement with thefloor, when the automobile is not in use. Quite asaving in the tires ishad by elevating the automobile to take the strain off of the tires overnight. .When an automobile is not to be used for quite a long time, suchas one month or more, it is obvious that the saving in tires will beeven more great. In this case some of the air may be let out of thetires to relieve them of the excessive pressure. I am aware that devicesknown as tire savers have heretofore been employed for this purpose.These tire savers have, heretofore been constructed so weak that theycannot withstand the very rough treatment that they receive around agarage. It has been'custo-mary to cast the standard or upright of thesetire savers. Inorder that the tire saver may not be too heavy orcumbersome the manufacturers have endeavored to reduce their weight atthe expense of their strength. When these tire savers are carelesslythrown about the garage, it not infrequently.

happens that the standards or other parts of the same break. A furtherdisadvantage to be encountered in the use of tire savers heretoforemanufactured, is that the different operating parts thereof fall apartwhen the device is laid or thrown upon the floor. In view of the presentstate of the art, as hereinabove briefly outlined, it is obvious thatthere is a great demand for a tire saver which is free from thedisadvantages above stated.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame, Figure 1 is a side view of the tire saver shown holding a wheelelevated, Fig. 2 is a forward face view of the same, Fig. 3 is a centrallongitudinal sectional view through the same, Fig. 4 is a plan view ofthe device, and, Fig. 5 is a hori zontal sectional view taken on line 55of Fig. 1.

In thevdrawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration, I have shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 6 designates. a shoeor base, provided with an upstanding tubular socket 7 for snuglyreceiving the lower end of a pipe or tubular standard or upright 8, asshown. This standard isformed of a section of a pipe, which constructionis found to be very strong, durable and'light.

The numeral 9 designates a support or supporting bracket, provided atits upper end with a horizontal extension or arm 10, carrying adepending extension or boss 11, which extends into the inner end of thepipestandard 8, as shown. The term extension as applied to the part 11is intended to cover either a boss formed integral with the arm 10 or apin, boltor the like, connected with or passing through the arm 10. Atits lower end the support or supporting bracket 9 is provided with aninwardly 05 'set portion 12, apertured' to receive a transverse bolt 13or the like passing through the standard 8. In this manner-the-supportor supporting bracket 9 is securely and permanently connected with thepipe-standard 8 and is retained parallel and suitably spaced therefrom,as shown. The numeral 14: designates a second transverse bolt, extendingthrough the pipe-standard 8, and disposed above and suitably spaced fromthe first named bolt. Attention is called to the fact that the heads ofthe bolts 13 and 141 are disposed upon the same side of thepipe-standard 8 and are in the same plane, to serve as a spline for apart to be described.

The support or supporting bracket 9 is provided near its upper end withan ear or lateral extension 15, which is received by the upper forkedend 16 of an operating lever 17, such parts being pivotally connected bymeans of a bolt, pin or rivet 18, as shown. The upper forked end 16 ofthe operating lever is disposed at an angle with relation to theoperating lever and the' same carries outwardly extending trunnions 19,which fit within the apertured outer ends of a U-' shaped operatingelement 20. i This U shaped element surrounds or incloses thepipe-standard 8, as shown.

Vertically movably mounted upon the pipe-standard 8 opposite the supportor supporting bracket 9 is a lift-element 21, which is curved in crosssection to conform to the curvature of the pipe-standard 8. Thislift-element is provided with an outwardly extending longitudinalportion 22, forming a longitudinal recess or pocket 23, adapted toreceive the heads of the bolts 13 and 14:. It is thus seen that theheads of the bolts 13 and 1 1 serve as a spline for the lift-element 21and prevent the same from turning per ceptibly upon the pipe-standard 8but allow the same to move freely longitudinally thereof. Thelongitudinal portion 22 is provided with teeth 24:, which are engaged bythe transverse portion of the U-shaped operating element 20, as shown.The liftelement 21 is provided near its upper and lower ends with rings25 and 26, which surround the pipe-standard 8, as shown. The lower ring26 is split or cut away, as more clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, wherebythe same may pass the off set extension 12 of the support or supportingbracket 9. The ring 25 retains the lift-element 21 permanently upon thepipe-standard 8, the same operating within the space between the supportor supporting bracket 9 and the pipestandard 8, as shown.

Formed upon the upper end of the liftelement 21 is a laterally extendingarm 27, carrying a swiveled head 28, which is preferably lined upon itsengaging surface with a strip of leather 28 or the like, to engage thehub of a wheel.

As the elements 6, 20, 21, and 9 are the most liable to be broken, Ipreferably make the same of brass. Of course I do not wish to in any wayrestrict myself to making these parts of brass alone, as any othersuitable strong metal may be used. The standard or upright 8 ispreferably formed of a section of an iron pipe, and the operating lever17 is also preferably formed of iron. Ordinarily the pipe-standard 8will fit sufficiently tight or snug within the socket 7 to prevent theshoe or base 6 from coming off of the same. I may however provide a boltor rivet (not shown) to securely hold these parts together, if it isfound necessary.

In the use of my tire saver, the same is placed in a suitable positionwith relation to the wheel, as shown in Fig. 1, the operating lever 17elevated and the lift-element 21 moved vertically until the head 28engages the hub of the wheel. The operating lever 17 is then swungdownwardly, to elevate the load and subsequently hold the same in theelevated position.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatcertain changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having fully described my invention, I claim .1. In apparatus of thecharacter described, the combination with a tubular standard, of asupporting bracket extending longitudinally of the tubular standard fora considerable portion of the length thereof and provided at its upperend with a depending extension for insertion Within the upper end of thetubular standard, a lift element slidably mounted upon the tubularstandard and provided with a longitudinal recess, an element attachingthe lower end of the supporting bracket with the tubular standard andextending therebeyond to enter the longitudinal recess of the liftelement to spline the same with the tubular standard, and means mountedupon the supporting bracket to raise and lower the lift element.

2. In a device of the character described, a substantially cylindricalstandard, a lift element slidably mounted upon the standard and formedcurved in cross section to 0011- form to the curvature of the standardand provided with a longitudinally extending pocket, a supportingbracket extending longitudinally of the substantially cylindricalstandard and provided at its upper end with a depending boss fittingwithin an opening formed in the standard, a transverse bolt passingthrough the standard and engaging the lower port-ion of the supportingbracket and having its head operating within the longitudinal pocket toserve as a spline for the lifter, a plurality of teeth formed upon thelift element, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the supportingbracket, and an operating element engaging the teeth itnd pivotallyconnected with the operating ever.

3. In a device of the character described, to serve as a splinetherefor, and means to 10 a pipe-standard, a lift element slidably raiseand lower the lift-element. mounted thereon and formed curved in crossIn testimony whereof I aifix my signature section to correspond to thecurvature of in presence of two witnesses. the pipe-standard andprovided with a longitudinal pocket, a suitable number of trans- LE ROYWILLOUR' verse bolts connected with the pipe-standard Witnesses: withtheir heads disposed to extend within THOS. H. MOORE, the longitudinalpocket of the lift-element C. W. CHARPANING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

